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Fly To Mars In A Plastic Ship

Posted by Zonk on from the wouldn't-go-any-other-way dept.

saskboy writes "NASA reports that an old polymer may be the spaceship material of the future. Polyethylene is in household garbage bags, and it is also an effective solar radiation shield. I learned three years ago in astronomy class that polyethylene is used in the sleeping quarters on current orbiting space vehicles, but now NASA has developed a way to toughen the polymer into a product they call RXF1 which is 'even stronger and lighter than aluminum'. As you may know, radiation in space is currently a major obstacle to manned missions outside of the Earth's magnetic field, so better radiation shielding is essential to planned manned missions to Mars and beyond. Get the mp3 podcast of the article here."

3 of 234 comments (clear)

  1. Plastic? by Limburgher · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Why build the spacecraft out of plastic? Who cases if it's flimsy? Why not simply put it into the wall s like insulation? How much thickness would you need? Talk about weight savings. . .

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    You are not the customer.

  2. Yes, but... by Ieshan · · Score: 1, Redundant

    "even stronger and lighter than aluminum"

    Yeah, but really geeks want to know, is it transparent?

  3. I for one... by israfil_kamana · · Score: 1, Redundant

    ... welcome our new plastic-encased overlords.

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